Every morning at 7:30 and every afternoon at 3:30, long lines of yellow school buses are lined up, ready to pick up students. This daily scene is not a familiar sight that older alumni saw in their old days.
The first full school year saw a population of 225 students, with a long wait list for admission in 1953 and 1954. The school construction was still underway until 1957, except for the large gym, which was finally completed in the Fall of 1959. As new dorms opened for occupancy, more students came to live on campus and started attending school. Each year, there was an increase of 75-100 students until the full occupancy occurred in 1958, with 500 students.
In the first full school year, 1953-1954, 94% of students at CSDR resided in dorms. In other words, 211 out of 225 students made home in the residence halls. The remaining 14 students went home to their families every day. This was a familiar scene on school grounds. The campus was bursting at the seams with school life and dorm life around the clock, not only for five days a week but also on weekends until 1973. It was customary for residential students to stay on campus three weekends a month and go home once each month. Contrary to popular belief, residential students preferred to remain on campus for weekends. The residential school was like a small town with everything provided for a good life experience.
With each passing decade, student residential placement changed slowly, resulting in more and more students going home to live with their families. Nowadays, there is a vast difference between 1953, when 94% of students resided in dorms, and 2024, when 15% lived in cottages (a new word replacement).
As a result, we have witnessed longer lines of small and long school buses coming to campus twice each school day. The lines are formed on Horace Street, the back campus road near the Pachappa buildings, the new Middle School complex, and the bus lot near the Lassen cottages.
The buses are provided by many school districts where students live for daily student transportation within an hour's driving distance each way. To coordinate the complexities of daily student transportation and ensure good service, three full-time staff members handle the big tasks. Their offices are now located in the back part of the former infirmary building.
In the above picture are two family members with multiple generations of Deaf families that commute between home and school everyday. The older girl is Adrulene Bruins (7th grade) and her younger niece, Riri Oliveras (2nd grader).
The older and recent alumni, including this editor, generally agree that dorms and cottages provide a wonderful “home” environment that complements their overall school experience.
Kevin Struxness, ‘76, MA
Editor, CSDR Old Times
30 September 2024
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